2 Comments

Not in my experience. I (BA) earn more than the Boy (developer) and have done for his past few roles. I think it greatly depends on the role too. Most women in IT are BAs and testers. Most men are developers and architects. Architects and dev team leads get paid more than BAs (well, mostly) and testers. If you want to get paid the big bucks, be an architect or a development manager.

I think you have been a lucky exception, and maybe being a BA has helped with that. When I was a developer, I earned a lot less than my male counterparts. (I know this because I was dating/living with one.) I know that some of that was due to my lack of self-confidence in asking for more money and pushing for raises. I’m pretty sure that at one role, they hired me because they could get away with paying me so little. (My salary jump going from the knitting shop back to I.T. wasn’t very much, but I was so grateful for the chance, I took it. Stupid.)

I’ve tried to be more assertive in my BA career, but I’m still lagging. When I left my last job, I discovered that a lot of the guys interviewing to replace me were asking for a lot more than I was earning (after three years with that company). That stung.

And studies have shown that even when women put themselves forward the way that a guy would, most of the time they’re penalised for it. Guys are seen as assertive go-getters; women get seen as pushy bitches. *sigh* I wish your experience was more the norm!